Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. Two teens from Belgium have been accused of attempting to smuggle thousands of ants from Kenya. Fortunately, the ants were packaged into test tubes for transport. But that's where the good news in this case ends.
Kenyan authorities have arrested the two and charged them with wildlife piracy. 19-year-old Lorney David and Seppe Lodewijckx are in serious trouble after authorities found them with 5,000 ants at a guest house. Kenyan Dennis Ng'ang'a and Vietnamese Duh Hung Nguyen also faced charges for smuggling 400 ants in a separate case that happened at the same time.
All four were accused of trying to smuggle messor cephalotes ants from Africa to Europe and Asia. Authorities explained that the smuggling "not only undermines Kenya's sovereign rights over its biodiversity but also deprives local communities and research institutions of potential ecological and economic benefits."
Smuggling Ants
Authorities also say the cases represent "a shift in trafficking trends. From iconic large mammals to lesser-known yet ecologically critical species." The two teens have packaged the ants into 2,244 test tubes with wool to survive. However, authorities got to them before they could smuggle the insects out of the country.
Authorities estimate the ants were worth around $7,700 in total. Philip Muruthi, a vice president for conservation at the Africa Wildlife Foundation in Nairobi, condemned the actions of the four men. He explained that ants play an important role in the ecosystem in Kenya. "The thing is, when you see a healthy forest, like Ngong forest, you don't think about what is making it healthy. It is the relationships all the way from the bacteria to the ants to the bigger things," he said.
He also believes that trafficking ants could pose a risk to the ecosystems of other countries. Introducing a new species could cause havoc in Europe and Asia."Even if there is trade, it should be regulated. And nobody should be taking our resources just like that," he said.
What sort of trouble the teens face remain to be seen. But it sounds like authorities are taking the crime very seriously.
